The Jazz Show

Every Wednesday between 7 and 9pm on BBC Radio Stoke and BBC Shropshire, John Hellings plays the best in classic, swing and contemporary jazz. To listen to the current show, click on the following link:

Occasionally on the show, John will interview musicians or jazz enthusiasts.  We save those interviews, and you can listen to them again, by clicking on the links in the top right-hand corner of this page.

Don't forget that you can also see the tracks John selects by going to his 'Playlists' page.

If you want to get involved you can also contact the show....

Contact the Jazz show

Alternatively, you can leave questions, memories, news and requests on the jazz messageboard for your fellow music lovers to share, or, take a moment to send John an email!  You'll find these links useful.

Or, if you prefer snail-mail, send your letters to John at:-
Jazz with John Hellings, BBC Radio, Cheapside, Hanley, Stoke on Trent. ST1 1JJ

About John

When most of his schoolmates were spending their money buying 78s of Elvis and Bill, Haley that is, young John Hellings went the other way and became interested in the music of Ted Heath.

It wasn’t long before he was buying everything from Gerry Mulligan to Earl Bostic and Gene Norman’s Just Jazz Concerts. At least as much as his paper round money would allow.

It wasn’t to last. From 78’s he saved even more money and bought the newly available LPs - Dave Brubeck concerts, Gerry Mulligan live performances, Shorty Rogers albums and so on.

Not many years on, and the American greats were visiting so it was tickets for everything from the delicate performances of the Modern Jazz Quartet to foot tappers from Ella Fitzgerald and many more.

Fast forward to the early eighties and a middle aged jazz lover shared his affections with a new love, radio. After cutting his teeth on hospital radio, he was offered two hours a week to present a jazz programme on a local commercial station.

He’s been presenting jazz radio in one form or another ever since, including the Big Bands show on the BBC across the Midlands for many years.

He says, "It’s great to be playing the music I grew up with together with sounds that were around before my time. Added to this, is the newer music still being produced by young musicians today which only goes to underline the wonderful heritage that jazz has."